Roman Polanski settles underage sexual assault lawsuit, won't face trial

Roman Polanski won't be going on trial next year after all. The lawsuit, launched last year by a Jane Doe plaintiff who accused the filmmaker of raping her when she was underage, has been settled "to the parties’ mutual satisfaction," Polanski's lawyer Alexander Rufus-Isaacs confirmed to Entertainment Weekly. Gloria Allred, who was representing the plaintiff, also confirmed the settlement.

The lawsuit was initially filed in June 2023 with anonymity for both parties, but was amended a month later to include Polanski's name. The case revolves around a 1973 incident when the plaintiff was a minor. The lawsuit was filed before the expiration of a short-lived California law that briefly opened up the statute of limitations on sexual assault cases, so that people could sue over incidents that had occurred decades prior.

According to the complaint, the plaintiff accepted a dinner invitation from Polanski, who allegedly plied her with tequila and then took advantage when she became dizzy. Despite her saying "no" when Polanski asked for sex, the lawsuit alleges that "defendant Polanski removed Plaintiff’s clothes and he proceeded to rape her, causing her tremendous physical and emotional pain and suffering." The complaint goes on to contend that she "has suffered and continues to suffer physical injury and severe emotional distress including but not limited to humiliation, loss of enjoyment of life, embarrassment, depression, feelings of helplessness, mental distress, and anxiety, as well as economic harm." Polanski has denied the allegations.

Following the settlement, the lawsuit has been formally dismissed from Los Angeles Superior Court, and the trial (which was set to begin in Los Angeles on Aug. 4, 2025) will not go forward.

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This is not the first time Polanski has been accused of sexual assault. The Polish-born director of Rosemary's Baby and Chinatown fled the United States in January 1978 after pleading guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old girl. He has lived in Europe ever since and has not returned to the United States; in 2003, he won the Best Director Oscar for The Pianist in absentia.

Between 2017 and 2019, three other women accused Polanski of raping them during the '70s. He has denied the allegations. Earlier this year, he was sued by actress Charlotte Lewis on allegations of defamation, and was acquitted in a French court.